Snap! tapped into balance and creativity again. The November 17th Fashion Photo Shootout held inside the distinctive square Orange Studio on Mills Ave. challenged photographers to think outside the box.  A white background, a light and two models made up by Art of Beauty by Sunha and beautifully styled by Fused Fashion were the only tools accessible to photographers to showcase clever artistry in a snap. Instant projections from the five minute shootout triggered the captive audience of professionals to applause for their favorite shots.

Throughout the evening, guests were treated to Peroni beer with an opportunity to taste delights from the Fantastic Hummus food truck. Overall it was an evening not to be missed hosted by Snap! and ASMP Central Florida. The buzz about the Fashion Photo Shootout continues to spread and we plan to do it again with a twist! Look for more upcoming events leading up to Snap! 2012 this coming year!

Many thanks to our film makers Snapwell Films and host Talitha Vickers.

Snap! Orlando concluded another successful Celebrate the Photograph season on May 08, after a whirlwind 5-days of exquisite art, captivating entertainment, engaging programs and seriously fun parties.

The turn out at this year’s event was impressive and we’ve been receiving a steady stream of calls, texts, emails and FB messages voicing appreciation and accolades for the caliber of our event. THANK YOU!! It means the world to us to hear the event was so broadly enjoyed and well received.

The big crowd pleaser was our May 04 Kick Off Event which alone drew hundreds of residents out to view our Snap! 2011 Digital Mapping Building Projection (created by PaintScaping.com). Mayor Buddy Dyer hosted the event with special guest Jayde Donovan from Mix 106.7. The projection was such a hit that most spectators stuck around to watch it multiple times (it was shown every half hour). If you missed the show, or just want to see it again, enjoy it here:

Snap!’s Main Exhibition of 12 curated international artists was also a huge success, with crowds raving about the sophisticated urban industrial ambiance Snap! created in our 25,000 sq.ft. space at the GAI Building. Event attendees also expressed delight at the opportunity to personally meet featured artists: Jerry Uelsmann, Maggie Taylor, Elena Vizerskaya, Kathy Eldon, Barry Kirsch, Brian Smith, and 100 Portrait curators Andy Adams and Larissa Leclair. Snap!’s Fashion Night (curated by Fused Fashion) also wowed the crowd.

For images of the entire event, visit our Official Snap! 2011 Photo Album on Facebook.

Team Snap! is elated by the success of our year 2 event and are already hard at work planning year three. Mark your calendars to Celebrate the Photograph with us once again May 03-06, 2012.

And if you loved what you experienced this year, and want to become an even bigger part of the Snap! action in the year to come, contact us. We are currently in talks with community art patrons and corporate entities re: sponsorship and event investment partnerships for 2012.

On that note, Snap! would like to thank the incredibly supportive and generous event sponsors of Snap! 2011: Downtown Orlando, United Arts, The Lucie Foundation, Orlando Style, Clear Channel, Ustler Group, Specialty Art Services, Impact Lighting, Kres, Bougainvillea Clinique, Chocolate Provocateur,  Comm Xperts, Orlando CVB, Harriet Lake, Baker & Hostetler, Fuze, Peroni, Tastings,  E/G, Puff’n’ Stuff, Karls Events, AFR Furniture Rental, Digital Propaganda, Colonial Photo & Hobby, Naneu, Sonesta Hotel, ASMP, Mall at Millenia, Lure Design, Urban Rethink , Kinzie + Riehm … as well as a host of additional in-kind donors, thank you!!

Lastly, appreciation and congratulations to Team Snap!, the hardest working and most fun event team in Orlando, for bringing it even bigger and better than expected! You are all so appreciated. Well done!!

This Mother’s Day, give the special mother in your life a truly unique, heart-warming and inspiring experience.

Snap! Orlando is hosting a catered Mother’s Day Youth Art Reception on Sunday, May 08 from noon-5pm with special guest and “Mother of Honor”  Kathy Eldon, who transformed her grief over the death of her son, artist/journalist Dan Eldon, into a celebrated global movement to engage youth in creative artistic expression. Kathy’s award-winning efforts have collaboratively linked her to Oprah Winfrey, President Barack Obama, Julia Roberts, Anderson Cooper, and Hillary Clinton, as well as other creative minds around the world.

Kathy Eldon is an executive producer on Julia Robert’s forthcoming special “Extraordinary Mothers” airing on the Oprah Winfrey Network on Sat, May 07, (while she is here at Snap! Orlando) from 8-9:30 EST

As part of our 2011 programming, Snap! is offering a FREE Youth Photography Workshop for local teens, inspired by the vibrant creative collage journals of Dan Eldon. (NOTE: The Youth Photography Progam takes place 4/30 & 5/1. If you know a teen who would like to participate for free. Please, contact us.) 

On Sunday, May 08, at our Mother’s Day Youth Art Reception, Kathy Eldon will join us at the GAI Building for the unveiling of the teen participants’ art work.  Kathy will be present to meet our youth artists, celebrate their work, and encourage their future artistic efforts. Event admission also includes:

•  access to the full Snap! exhibition galleries, 
• catered reception from noon-2pm,
• Kathy Eldon book signing,
• plus a FREE professional  “Mom & I” portrait, compliments of Kinzie+Riehm.

Tickets for this family-friendly event are $5 at the door per adult -or- are included in the price of a Snap! Weekend Pass. (Note: youth under 18, and parents of our youth program participants attend free). 

Continuing our Q &A series with this year’s Snap! artists, we decided to talk technique and creative process with local artist Jeff League, whose images can be seen in Snap!’s HOMEGROWN Exhibit (local Central Florida photographers) at Orlando Museum of Art. Jeff’s artistic process is rare and complex with unique and striking results. Here’s what he shared with us:

Snap!: Your artwork is not straight photography, but rather, incorporates photographic elements in combination with the rare medium of encaustic painting. How did you come to this particular art style and process? What about it resonates for you?

JL: I was searching for another medium that would allow me to create my own imagery and be able to express more than I had with straight photography.  I saw a photo transfer demonstration and was intrigued. Building up the piece in multiple layers creates an atmosphere and depth, an almost three dimensional quality not present in my previous work. 

Snap! Your images incorporate a lot of nature elements, with birds and trees appearing most often. What about those subjects most intrigues you?

JL: The crows I use in much of my work historically represented the messenger in many cultures; for example in Scandinavia, messenger to the Norse gods. In many pieces the theme involves communication or the relationship of the individual to the global society; the message has multiple interpretations. Like the crow, I want my audience to pay attention to what’s happening to the natural world around them. 

Snap! Tell us a little bit about the process of creating one of your images. How does the work unfold from initial concept to the final image we enjoy on canvas?

JL: I start with my idea and pull together my photos, or take new ones for the different elements in each composition. The first layer on my boards is water color paper, or a scan of an antique map printed on watercolor paper. After painting my background in watercolor, I paint on a layer of encaustic medium (beeswax & tree resin, sometimes with pigment added). Next, I scrape and then flame the surface with a blowtorch to level it, then transfer and hand burnish the first layer of photography (photocopied & cut into the different elements so I can place them upside down). The photo ink transfers onto the waxy surface, and I peel the paper away.

Transferring a copy of my photo in reverse over the background and first layers of clear encaustic medium.

I repeat this process, building the image in layers, and painting in details by hand, sometimes adding metal leaf or oil stick. 

Painting foreground with a mixture of beeswax, tree resin, and pigment. 

I flame and polish the final layer of un-pigmented encaustic to a high sheen, giving it a glowing and translucent finish. 

Snap! Your art is included in Snap!’s HOMEGROWN exhibit of local Central FL photographers (hosted at Orlando Museum of Art). What do you hope event attendees walk away with after viewing your work and the collective exhibit?

JL: Developments in technology have made a variety of photographic techniques easily accessible to a whole new generation.  Many artists go through an elaborate pre-shoot planning process, building sets and props, that the casual observer might not even be aware of. For the fine artist, photography is just one of many tools available to convey a message. But for the artist, the message, the story, is the most important part, not just the technique. 

Snap!: What’s next for you and your work after your participation in Snap! Orlando?

JL: I’ve been sharing my message through photography, first in black and white, then Polaroid transfer, now in combination with painting. Next, I plan to continue the story by incorporating the photographic elements with glass. The story will continue, but become even more three dimensional and sculptural.

Take a peak at Jeff’s work here: jeffleague.com

Then, come see it in person at our HOMEGROWN local  photographers exhibit at OMA.

Our good friends over at Burrow Press put their creative brains together to take on the Snap! On challenge.

By that, we mean: they outsourced the challenge assignment to the talented minds of their film-making friends and loved ones. After 3-weeks of work, here is the result of that effort: a seriously superb Snap! On film short  all about … well, how to make the world’s greatest Snap! On film short, of course!  Check it out:

Nice! We love this! Thanks guys for putting so much time and energy into showing Snap! some love.

 Curious about the creative talent behind the World’s Greatest Promo?  

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Want to show us your Snap! love in unique and creative way?

Make a video, capture an image, craft a project, … whatever strikes your clever little fancy. Just think outside the box and surprise us. Then document your Snap! On creation and email it to us and we’ll post approved submissions here on the blog for the world to see.

Note: Your submission MUST be appropriate for all audiences and MUST incorporate the following:

• the Snap! logo
• our event dates: May04-08, 2011
• our web address:  www.snaporlando.com

Click here for the complete Snap! On Campaign Guidelines and to download our logo.

Be on the look out for Snap!’s expanded series of eye-catching Clear Channel digital billboards. The first two launched last week.

This week, 7 new vibrant images are being added for display on 9 digital billboards around town. Here’s a sneak peak at just a few of them …

Image by featured photographer Elena Vizerskaya

Image by Jörg Brüggemann from 100 Portraits (curated by Andy Adams & Larissa Leclair)

Image by featured master photographer Jerry Ueslmann

Nice, right?  The drive around town is suddenly more attractive!

So, keep an eye out for the other billboards  When you see one, visit our Facebook photo album and tag yourself into the image and let us know which of the series is your favorite!

P.S. Big thanks and much appreciation to a our good friends at Clear Channel for such visible and wide-spread exposure.

Curious to know the story behind some of Snap!’s most eagerly anticipated exhibits? Tonight we’re launching a new 4-part Q&A series with this year’s featured artists. (One every Sunday evening for the next 4 weeks.) We’ve asked them some questions and then we’re opening up the comments section for you to ask them some questions. So let’s get the conversation started!

First up is local photographer Barry Kirsch, who agreed to kick off our Q&A series with some back and forth about his recently completed exhibit: The Murder City Project (a 24-image art noir photo series that will have its world unveiling at Snap! Orlando).

Snap!: The Murder City Project is an art-noir photography series. How did the idea for the project come about?

BK: I got the idea after hearing a shocking statistic back in 2006 that noted Orlando as the city with the highest increase in per capita homicide rates. I thought “My gosh, I’m living in a Murder City!” And the idea took seed from there.

Snap!: The 24 images in the series are all shot with a very stark and distinct b&w style. Much of your commerical work is notable for its signature color saturation. What about shooting in stark b&w felt right for The Murder City Project?

BK: I opted for b&w to remove the distraction of color. I wanted to keep the focus on the content of each image. I did include one singular color element in every image, however: a gold pocket watch. It serves to accentuate the image, tie the images all together via one common signature element, and to make the point that homicide happens 24-hours a day (each image in the series is titled with a time: 24 images, 24 hours, one image for every hour in a fictitious day).

Snap!: A portion of proceeds from The Murder City Project will benefit Central FL CRIMELINE . Why was this important to you?

BK: While I hope to make an impact of changed awareness through this project, I also wanted to make a direct impact toward reducing violent crime and since the crime rate in Orlando prompted the project, giving back at the local level made sense. As The Murder City Project grows and begins to travel, I hope to expand the number of organizations it can help. But supporting CRIMELINE will always be part of this project for me.

Snap!: The Murder City Project is making its international debut at Snap! Orlando this year. You also used a lot of local Orlando residents in the series (vs. professional models). Was anchoring the project in your own local community deliberate or just logistically necessary?

BK: Using every day residents (vs. models) was very deliberate on my part. I wanted direct community participation in getting the message of this project out because the issue (violent crime) affects them directly and CRIMELINE is an organization we all actually count on to help keep us and our community safe.

Snap!: A photo series of staged murder scenes might initially seem irreverent or even irresponsible to some viewers. What is it you hope the audience will feel at first glance, and is it the same feeling the exhibit hopes to evoke by the time the last image is revealed?

BK: As a former career photojournalist, I’ve seen all kinds of god-awful things happen to people. And I am always astounded by the complete lack of response from the larger population if it isn’t directly affecting them. There is a disconnect. The effort to affect change makes people feel uneasy. They’d rather be entertained. The 60″ by 40″ images in The Murder City Project are stark, hard to ignore, and deliver my message in a manner that is hard to misconstrue. At the beginning of the experience, people will be captivated, titillated and pulled in. Once there, the final image makes a statement about the complexity of the violent crime issue and will hopefully evoke discussion about how (unlike the images themselves) the issue of violent crime is never black and white.

See the world reveal of The Murder City Project at Snap! Orlando.

Have a question for photographer Barry Kirsch? Post it in the comments section.

Snap! Orlando is pleased to announce the kick off of our 2nd Annual Instant Snapification Competition.  The contest is designed to encourage amateur and professional photographers alike to challenge themselves creatively and to unite around a shared project.

Snap! invites anyone around the globe to submit a digital photo related to the theme “Perception & Reality”. Pictures are to be taken ONLY with a cell phone or smart phone. All qualifying submissions will be posted on the Instant Snapification website for public viewing.

The best entries will have their photos displayed at Snap! 2011 in Downtown Orlando, May 04–08, 2011. The overall contest winner will receive a luxury professional camera bag from Naneu.

So, pull out those phones and get Snap!-ing. 

Instant Snapification begins April 1 and ends April 30, 2011.

See full contest details.

Get tickets to Snap! 2011.     

How Patrick Kahn gets his Snap! On

Talk about a one track mind! Even at the park with his kids, event founder Patrick Kahn has Snap! on the brain. This playful sidewalk chalk creation was crafted to pique the curiosity of nearby park-goers. Way to work those ”street marketing” efforts, Patrick.

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Want to show us your Snap! love in unique and creative way?

Make a video, capture an image, craft a project, … whatever strikes your clever little fancy. Just think outside the box and surprise us. Then document your Snap! On creation and email it to us and we’ll post approved submissions here on the blog for the world to see.

Note: Your submission MUST be approporiate for all audiences and MUST incorporate the following:

• the Snap! logo
• our event dates: May04-08, 2011
• our web address:  www.snaporlando.com

Click here for the complete Snap! On Campaign Guidelines and to download our logo.

Wow!

Team Snap! has been gathered around a laptop for the last hour having a blast exploring this captivating around-the-world photo journey captured by our good friend, and amazing photographer, Nico Ammann (whose work and presence helped make Snap! a tremendous success last year).

Leveraging Google Maps as a portal to the world, Nico has captured images of some of the most breathtaking and notable destinations on the planet.

Says Nico (per his website):

 ”I decided to go on a virtual round-the-world trip on Google Street View. Just like everybody does when travelling, I recorded my many impressions by way of photographs. With my iPhone, I took a picture of each destination directly from the computer screen. Then, I converted the snapshot with the Polaroid Instant Cam app into a conventional vacation memory.’

‘My photographs are therefore photographs of photographs, that record a journey that never happened. But, what difference does it make?“

This is such a cool concept, Nico. Thanks for thinking of it and thanks for sharing it!! ( … even if you did forget to Google-stop in Orlando. haha)

See Nico’s full Google Vacation Project for yourself to travel around the world without leaving your chair.

Enjoy the ride!